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I just watched all 6 eps for the first time today and loved it. For such a short show it accomplishes so much more than what most do. I want to know about the after-the-fact stuff too, just like an OVA or something (*sigh* if only).

I thought Hantsuki, REC, and Shinigami no Ballad proved that six-episode series could be successful. Well, maybe they were artistically successful but didn't make enough money.

In any case, they were all out in 2005-6 and there haven't been many since. Recently we have the rather irregularly released short OVA series Candy Boy and Eve no Jikan -- and both of them are excellent, too, especially Eve.

I thought Hantsuki, REC, and Shinigami no Ballad proved that six-episode series could be successful. Well, maybe they were artistically successful but didn't make enough money.

In any case, they were all out in 2005-6 and there haven't been many since. Recently we have the rather irregularly released short OVA series Candy Boy and Eve no Jikan -- and both of them are excellent, too, especially Eve.

Agreed.... I really felt that it was a fantastic format and have been quite surprised we haven't seen many more 'short form' series. Hardly a wasted second in any of those examples.

I suppose it ended up being a cost issue as a single production no matter what length has a fixed minimum cost -- longer productions mean more product (DVDs) and more exposure for merchandise.

Volume 1 really does go much more in depth than the anime does...actually...I can't remember .

Yuuichi goes over to his friend Tsukasa's house alot during his time in the Hospital. (He lives close.) After all, staying in the hospital gets to be too boring with nothing to do. So he goes over to play games, and hang out. It also seems like Tsukasa is...a little strange. He's in the cooking club at school, and makes snacks that taste much better those made by the girls...he also seriously watches cooking shows for new tips...

Anyway, the novel talks about how they became friends, and I really thought it was quite deep. In the beginning, Tsukasa may have gotten love letters in his shoe locker from quite a few girls, (hey, he was good at cooking, and surrounded by all girls...O_o), but he didn't really have any friends.

There was a time when Yuuichi would walk to school, and pass by an abandoned kitten. It was really cute, and he liked to stroke its fur. Most people would feed it, so Yuuichi thought the cat would find a home soon. There was a consecutive break from school, and during that time it rained, so he didn't really go out a lot. When school started again, he noticed the cat wasn't in its usual spot, and so thought that someone must have finally taken it home, and he was happy. Then at school, he overhears two girls talking about the cat. It seems one of the girls grandparents had found the cat dead in the parking area for bicycles after the raining. She also said they didn't bury it, but threw it out with the burnable trash...>.< (This got Yuuichi a bit worked up) (In japan, everybody separates...*ahem* is supposed to separate their trash. Anyway, burnable trash is Monday and Thursday, usually).

Anyway, to get more on point, one evening during a heavy rain, Tsukasa came to Yuuichi's house asking him if he could take in this one cat. Yuuichi turned him down, after all, his mom wouldn't let him have one. But with the combination of noticing the class list in Tsukasa's shirt pocket, seeing him soaked with rain, and it being 10:00 at night, he started to change. After Tsukasa had apologized for disturbing him and left, Yuuichi runs out after him. It might not be much, but he was going to ask the other classmates together with Tsukasa. That was the start of their friendship.

I just wanted to share that...the novels are pretty deep and exciting. I'm at page 115 of Volume 1, and here's a quick synopsis:

Spoiler for Volume 1 (up to page 115) synopsis thingy:

Yuuichi gets hospitalized with a severe fever. For a number of days, he's in severe pain, and has no strength. After some time however, the disease starts to settle and he regains his energy. But after staying in the hospital for one month, and feeling better, he goes out alot. To Tsukasa's, to convenience stores to buy little things, etc. Because it's too hard to stay in the Hospital all the time. Though he gets caught by Akiko on one of his outings, and after that she blocks his door from the outside with a chair so he can't get out at night. One day he saw this girl in the East Ward of the Hospital, which surprised him because he knew most of the hospital and patients by now, and most (practically all) were the elderly. Akiko then comes to him with a deal. If he agrees to be this girl's (who had transferred in from a different hospital 3 days earlier), "conversation partner," then Akiko promised to remove the chair from his room at night. He agrees.

He goes to meet her, and brings a book Akiko said she really likes. (of course he hasn't read it). Eventually that is revealed, and he just apologizes. She says she'll forgive him, but in return he has to do anything she says, whenever she says it. He agrees without thinking too hard. Then, well, we know from the anime like the rest of this spoiler, lol. She makes him go to the library in the cold for borrowing a book from the "Peter Rabbit" series, and he gets the wrong one, and is made to go back again. But when he does so, it's past dinner. But out of a stroke of kindness, Rika saved his dinner for him. Later that night, is when he sneaks out to Tsukasa's place, and that's where the story of the cat comes in, which I just wanted to share...

Anyway, I think the light novels are awesome! I'm halfway through Volume 1 in practically a day...lol...

I'm just kind of wondering, is there much interest in a translation of these books? I mean, the anime pretty much covers everything, (except volume 6, and volume 7 & 8, while side stories, seem to happen AFTER volume 6, during the time Rika and Yuuichi are attending the same high school for real.)